An open letter to my fellow Republicans: To win back the White House, we must reject Trump

Dear Fellow Republicans:

If the Democrats had nominated literally anyone other than Hillary Clinton in 2016, that person would have been elected president. If that had happened, the Supreme Court, U.S. Senate and House of Representatives would look very different today.

Now, as we approach the 2024 presidential cycle, our party needs to nominate literally anyone other than former President Donald Trump. If we do, Republicans will control the White House for four or eight years.

Let’s not mess this up.

President Joe Biden is struggling. Many Democrats are not happy with him. Independent voters abandoned him a long time ago. As inflation and gas prices climb, Biden just keeps handing us more chances of electing a Republican to the White House. Further, it now appears that Biden selected a vice president in Kamala Harris who may inspire less confidence in Democrats than Biden himself.

An analogy for the choice now facing Republicans can be found in financial markets, in which smart investors look for a return on their investments.

Let’s not choose to invest in Bitcoin, with huge variance; let’s choose to invest in the market and spread our risk. I concede that Trump has a chance of winning, but he also has a nearly equal chance of being a complete electoral train wreck.

Let’s bet on the field. Former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and many others are all far more likely to beat a weakened Biden and hold the office for eight years. These nominees would all be like index funds, with a safe return. All we need to win is a positive return.

That return could be eight years of Supreme Court appointments, eight years of tax relief, eight years of less government regulation and eight years to build the Republican Party around someone who believes in the principles of limited government.

Many Republicans are Trump loyalists. I get it. But I’m encouraging you to think about our party’s principles of limited government and select a nominee who has the best chance to win in 2024 and stay in office through 2032.

Our party is not about one person. It’s about the ideas we believe in. And it’s always dangerous when it becomes more about the person than the ideas behind the movement.

I’m encouraging Republicans to select a nominee who believes in the ideas we believe in. That candidate is someone who is disciplined, articulate and relatively scandal-free.

If you’ve been happy with the Supreme Court lately, consider this: Justice Clarence Thomas will be 76 years old at the next inauguration. Justice Samuel Alito will be 74. Justice Sonia Sotomayor will be 70. If Republicans elect someone with the ability to hold the White House for eight years, in 2032, those judges will be 83, 81 and 78, respectively.

The price of Republicans betting on Trump could mean ensuring that a Democrat is in place to name a new slate of justices the next time the court turns over.

Wrongly betting on Trump would mean that Republicans would forsake what we have always been: a party of fiscal responsibility and limited government. We need to give the ball to the person most likely to carry those principles into the White House and hold it for eight consecutive years.

As Biden commits gaffe after gaffe, he makes himself less and less likely to be reelected in 2024. We can take back The White House. Let’s do it.

Sincerely,

Matt

P.S. Think about how angry House Speaker Nancy Pelosi would be if Republicans held the White House for eight consecutive years.

This story was originally published August 3, 2022 at 5:30 AM.